What Evah! - A Little Secret About Etsy

I've noticed a new rash of Etsy shop closings. They like to do it on Friday, so you can't contact them about it till the following week, not that they answer you back to let you know what you did and how you can remedy it.

I have a little secret I've been keeping. Silly me, I thought that someday I might get back on Etsy, so I didn't want to bash them too bad. Not that my secret is bashing, only the truth.

You can read about how My Daughter got her shops closed here in my post Etsy Shop Closings. It's been a popular post, I guess because others have had their shops closed too, without warning.

I must say, that I think almost everyone on Etsy has SOME violation of the TOUs, so if the powers that be want you off, you will be off.

Poppy's sin was copyright infringement in ONE of her shops. But if you read the post, there was no infringement. She legally reconstructs licensed product under the First Sale Doctrine. But Etsy didn't want to hear that, or that she had proof from the complaining companies, that what she did WAS legal. No, Etsy told her that she had had been accused (unjustly) too many times. There was nothing they could do.
they couldn't even leave her shop open. The even closed 2 shops that I had with her.

We did have a series of unfortunate events though, and I fell behind on my fees. All of my shops were closed and I tried in vain to negotiate with Etsy to make payment. You see that was my only income, and without the shops, it was nearly impossible to pay the fees. I was lost and struggling.

I was on a wonderful Etsy team and my fellow members suggested that I talk to one person in particular to find out what was going on and see if he could help. He had been very helpful to her and others. I tried to handle the situation myself, but got nowhere.

Finally after about a week I used my friend's inside contact and made a plea for his help. Now here is the secret I have never shared with anyone. Shortly after I sent the email, my shops and Poppy's shops disappeared off the face of Etsy, and our ISP was blocked. We could get to Etsy, but couldn't look at item details. I never heard a word back from that kind helpful person. I just got jerked around a little bit more.

I did find a few other places to sell, but my product had to change with the atmosphere of the site. Still struggling a bit, but things are looking up.  I wish you all well in your endeavors and hope your luck is a bit better than mine.